Wilmington has won four straight games at home, while Gardner-South Wilmington has won four straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Wildcats will host the Panthers at 4:30 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Wilmington 3.5, Gardner-South Wilmington 3.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Wilmington will bounce into Friday's match after beating Manteno, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. The Wildcats narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Panthers 3-2. Those three runs were actually the fewest the Wildcats have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Taryn Gilbert spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on nine hits.
At the plate, Wilmington saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ally Allgood, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI. Keeley Walsh was another, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Gardner-South Wilmington never let their opponents score on Thursday. Everything went their way against Momence as they made off with a 7-0 win. Considering the Panthers have won five contests by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Maddie Simms was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Bree Stein was excellent, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Wilmington has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Gardner-South Wilmington, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
Both Wilmington and Gardner-South Wilmington just can't seem to miss. The Wildcats have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 11.9 hits per game. However, it's not like Gardner-South Wilmington struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.2 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Wilmington's way against Gardner-South Wilmington in their previous matchup back in May of 2021, as Wilmington made off with a 15-0 victory. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
